Elkins School District Alternate Method of Instruction (AMI)
AMI Day #_4
School Name Elkins Middle School
Teacher Name Deanna Auslam
Subject / Course Name MS Choir
Assignment Description ONLINE: MS Choir Essay –Essay on history behind a particular song of your choice.
PAPER HARD-COPY MS Choir Essay – Essay on history behind a particular song of your choice
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EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected]
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Assignments will be graded and entered into the gradebook according to the teacher’s grading system. Attendance will be recorded based upon completion of the assignment.
AMI Middle School Choir Lesson 4
STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS
Recently I was listening to a radio program on Sirius where one of the DJs was being interview about a new book he had just written. The book was about the various life events that inspired the writing of Classic Rock songs. Many of our favorite songs came from interesting circumstances. There are also myths about certain songs that have been circulated. Today you will write a short essay about a song of your choice, from any genre, and the real story behind that song. Be sure and copy and paste the lyrics so I know what song you are referring to. Your essay needs to be approximately 75 words in order for you to get full credit.
"Everything I Own"
You sheltered me from harm Kept me warm, kept me warm You gave my life to me Set me free, set me free The finest years I ever knew Were all the years I had with you Chorus And I would give anything I own Give up my life, my heart, my home I would give everything I own Just to have you back again
You taught me how to love What it's of, what it's of You never said too much But still you showed the way And I knew from watching you Nobody else could ever know The part of me that can't let go Chorus Is there someone you know You're loving them so But taking them all for granted You may lose them one day Someone takes them away And they don't hear the words you long to say Chorus
One of my favorite Classic Rock bands is the group Bread. I love their free and easy sound. One of my favorite songs by them is “Everything I Own”. I had always assumed that the song was about lost love. Recently, while listening to an interview, I found that I had been mistaken. The writer of the song is David Gates. It seems that the song is not about some long, lost love. Instead, the song is actually about David’s father. It seems that his father was a career military man and Vietnam War veteran. Like many men in the military, he wanted things done certain ways. He tended to be an authoritative disciplinarian and had a difficult time showing his emotions. David said in all his years as a child, he never once heard his dad say that he loved him. David also said that he had never said he loved his father in return. Like many men of his time, David’s father thought the show of emotions was a sign of weakness, but David knew his father loved him, just the same. He saw it in his actions, the way he faithfully took care of his family. It was something that was simply understood.
As the lyrics imply, David’s one regret was that he never told his father that he loved him. His father died when he was a young adult. By then, it was too late for him to tell his father the way he felt. He wrote the song to try and express the feelings he had, to thank his father for all he did in helping him become the kind of man he had grown to be. David never intended to record the song, but he shared it with one of his band mates who insisted they add it to their play list. It became one of their biggest hits ever.